The Reluctant Dom

Chapter Five

They took Leah’s Lexus, with Kaden driving. Seth was going to sit in the backseat, but Kaden guided Leah there first, not releasing her hand until she was seated. Before she let go, she kissed the back of his hand.

“Thank you, Master.”

“You’re welcome, love.”

Seth numbly slid into the front passenger seat and tried to quiet his racing brain.

The club was located in a nondescript mixed-use commercial complex east of Sarasota, not too far from the interstate. Several dozen cars were already parked outside. Kaden took his glasses off and left them on the dash, then reversed the procedure for getting Leah out after he grabbed the duffel bag from the trunk. He took her hand, and she kissed his before carefully stepping out.

Seth wouldn’t deny he was as hard as a rock.

She held Kaden’s hand while Seth trailed behind them. In the foyer, Kaden spoke to someone at the desk and then turned to Seth. “Here. Take her.” He offered up Leah’s hand.

Unsure what to do, Seth took it, offering no resistance when she kissed the back of his hand and looked at him.

“Thank you, Sir,” she said.

He nodded. “Um. Uh-huh. Yeah.”

Kaden took out his wallet and paid Seth’s cover charge, gave them information on Seth, and went over the basic dungeon rules and etiquette with him. When they finished, Kaden took Leah’s hand and she kissed him again. Seth followed them inside.

Seth hoped his jaw didn’t hit the floor. At various equipment stations, several people were already scening. Kaden handed Leah off to Seth again and went to talk to someone. She stood quietly by his side, holding his hand.

What do you say in a situation like that?

He said nothing, just watched what was going on around them. That was difficult though, because he was having a hard time taking it all in.

She gently squeezed his hand. When he looked down at her, she smiled. “It’s okay.”

He nodded and continued looking around.

Kaden returned a few minutes later with another man. “Seth, this is Tony.” The guy didn’t look much different than Kaden, dressed like he could be heading to a sports bar instead of a dungeon in black jeans and a black shirt.

They shook hands. Unsure what to say, Seth simply said, “Nice to meet you.”

Tony smiled. “I know. A lot to take in at once.”

“You ain’t kidding, buddy.”

Kaden traded Seth the duffel bag for Leah. “We’ll be right back. Restroom.”

Seth nervously stood there, looking around.

“Kaden said it’s your first time,” Tony said.

Seth nodded.

“You’ll get used to it.”

“That’s what he keeps telling me. I’m not so sure.” Across the room from them, a naked woman was strapped to a large X-shaped frame. She screamed. Seth wasn’t sure if it was pain or pleasure at first until he realized she had a vibrator strapped onto her.

Tony leaned in close and dropped his voice. “Kaden told me what’s going on. I’m sorry you’ve got all this shit dumped on you at once.”

Seth nodded. “Thanks.”

“I’ve known them for years. They’ve always spoken very highly of you.”

That shocked Seth more than the sights before him. Tony spoke again. “Kaden has my number. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need to talk, or information, or anything.”

Seth whispered, “How am I supposed to learn all this?”

Tony shrugged. “You learn what you have to. They’re on the tamer end of the scale, all things considered.” The woman screamed again, her whole body vibrating against her restraints. Another woman, dressed in what Seth imagined a Dominatrix would wear, stood nearby and watched with an impassive look on her face. Now the tethered woman was wearing nipple clamps, with a chain joining them and attached to her…

Fuck.

“Tamer end? He gave me a demonstration last night. That didn’t look fucking tame to me.”

“He’s an artist with rope. Did he show you that yet?”

“Just pictures.”

“Gorgeous what he can do. If you’re ever here and need advice, feel free to hunt me down. I know this has to be scary.”

“Scary isn’t even in the same fucking universe as what I’m feeling right now, dude.” Ball-crawling heebie-jeebies might come close.

Maybe.

Kaden and Leah returned. Kaden reached for the duffel bag. “Let’s go play, love,” he said to her.

Seth drifted behind them, Tony walking beside him, toward a low bench.

Tony leaned in again. “Remember, what they do is carefully scripted and totally consensual. She rarely uses a safe word. He reads her body, knows what she can take. There’s a lot of wannabes and poser assholes out there who claim they’re ‘expert’ Doms. If I had to point to one, your best friend really is. He can pick a goddamned fly off a wall with a singletail. You’ll never hear him brag about it either.”

Seth nodded and waited for someone to tell him what to do.

Kaden turned to Seth. “Important rules. Never leave her alone or out of your sight, except for the bathroom. Never turn your back on her when she’s bound. Most importantly, no one besides you or me—ever—touches her unless it’s an emergency and they’re helping you get her free. Understand?”

Seth nodded.

Kaden turned to Leah and released her hand. He dropped the duffel bag and flashed the hand signal. She dropped to her knees before him.

Seth felt something tighten in his stomach, at war with his restless cock stirring at the sight of her kneeling there. Tony touched Seth’s shoulder. They stepped a few feet back to the edges where a couple of others now stood, watching.

When Kaden spoke, the strength and authority in his normally gentle voice surprised Seth. “Tell me what you want, slave.”

“I want to serve You, Master.”

“And how do you wish to do that, slave?”

“However Master thinks is best.”

“Do you need to feel the bite, slave?”

Her skin flushed. “I need to feel the bite, Master.”

“Prepare for me then, if you need it so badly.”

She jumped to her feet and walked over to the bench. She stripped, neatly folding her clothes and laying them nearby with her shoes. Left only in her collar, she turned to Kaden, who had stripped off his shirt, and knelt again.

He took something from the bag and quickly fitted it around her head. When Kaden straightened, Seth realized it was a ball gag. Part of him felt horrified seeing Leah like that but the look in her eyes…

It was pure devotion as she stared up at her husband.

Kaden pointed. “Take your place, slave. Don’t make me wait.”

She jumped to her feet and practically threw herself on the bench. Kaden already had something in his hands. Within a few breaths he had four heavy leather cuffs attached to her wrists and ankles and secured to the bench, her ass and bare mound open and exposed.

“Holy fuck,” Seth whispered.

Tony leaned in. “Consensual. Remember that.”

Seth nodded.

Kaden stepped back, never turning his back on her. “Where are we, slave?”

She made an okay sign with her right hand.

“Show me your hands and feet.”

She wiggled them all, flexing her fingers and toes.

“Circulation,” Tony said.

“Very good, love.” Kaden took out a nasty-looking device from the bag.

“Soft flogger,” Tony explained in the same low voice. “He’s going to warm her up.” From his tone, he could have been calling a golf game.

The Twilight Zone theme played in Seth’s brain.

Kade stepped up to her and caressed her ass. She wiggled, squirming on the bench as he positioned himself. He rolled his neck and shoulders and the tone of his voice deepened further. “Are you ready to feel the bite, slave?”

She wiggled her ass at him and flicked a signal with her right hand.

“Sign language,” Tony said.

Seth felt he had a front row seat at the weirdest show on Earth.

“Set of twenty, love.”

She flicked another sign.

“That means yes,” Tony said.

“Count.”

With each swat of the flogger she twitched her ass, and with her right hand made a sign, apparently counting in sign language. Kade quickly finished the set and caressed her slightly pink flesh.

“Where are we, love?”

She flashed another okay sign.

“Set of twenty, love.”

She signed yes.

“Count.”

Kaden savaged her, or what Seth imagined was a savaging. Tony leaned in. “It looks a lot worse than it is,” he assured him. “You could smack a kid with that flogger and it wouldn’t hurt them. It’s very soft. He’s putting her in subspace. Building up to the harder implements.”

Great. More vocabulary.

Kaden finished the set and switched to a paddle. After a set of twenty-five with that, Seth noticed Leah’s eyes had closed and she’d been crying. He desperately wanted to go to her, comfort her, and knew he couldn’t.

Next came a set of twenty-five with a harsh-looking riding crop. Seth flinched with each stroke that landed on her flesh. At the end of that set, Kaden leaned in close and said something too low for Seth to hear. She nodded and flashed him a sign. Kaden tenderly stroked her forehead and then returned to the duffel bag.

He pulled out a whip.

Tony grabbed Seth’s arm and pulled him back a couple of feet, then waved a few other people back. When the area was clear, Kaden glanced at Tony, who nodded.

“Do you need to feel the bite, slave?”

She signed yes.

“Are you prepared to serve your Master, slave?”

She signed yes.

He flicked the whip at her, cracking it but not striking her. She flinched and wiggled her ass at him.

Seth thought she might have moaned.

“I don’t think you want it badly enough, slave. I don’t think you need it.” The hard, firm edge to Kaden’s voice twisted Seth’s gut. He’d never heard his friend talk like that. Especially never to Leah.

Tony leaned in again. “He’s trying to draw it out for her tonight. He’s not normally this hard in a public scene with her.”

Hard. Funny choice of words. As sick as his gut felt, Seth was harder than a rock.

She signed something at Kaden and wiggled her ass again. Again he cracked the whip over her, not striking her.

Seth flinched at the sound.

Kaden walked over to her and struck her ass with his bare hand, from the looks of it hitting her squarely between the legs.

Seth winced. Even through the ball gag he heard Leah’s moan.

And it didn’t sound like she was in pain.

Kaden struck her again. It looked like she tried to grind herself against her husband’s hand. He whispered something to her, and she moaned again, louder.

Two more swats and her whole body trembled.

Kaden quickly stepped back and nailed her ten times in quick succession with the whip, each strike hitting her squarely in the center of her now-red ass cheeks.

She screamed around the gag, her hips bucking.

Holy fuck! Seth realized she was coming.

Kaden swatted her bare-handed several more times, followed by another round of ten with the whip. When he finished he said, “Where are we, love?” His tone had softened to the tender voice he’d used with her the night before in the playroom.

She panted but flashed an okay sign.

Kaden quickly coiled the whip and put it away, then knelt beside her, stroked her forehead. He whispered something, and she nodded and closed her eyes. He quickly released her from the cuffs and pulled her into his lap. He removed the ball gag from her mouth, and she cuddled in his arms, recovering.

Seth swallowed hard. He wished it was his arms around her. Couldn’t he skip the beatings and go right to the recovery phase with her? That would sure as hell make his life easier.

He was watching them when he heard loud voices from another part of the dungeon. A middle-aged, overweight man dressed in tight leather pants and a leather vest dragged a young woman around by a leash. The woman had something that looked like a gag in her mouth, and her hands were bound behind her.

He berated her, swatting her on the ass with a crop. “Fuck, didn’t I tell you not to embarrass me tonight? You stupid cunt.”

Tony’s face hardened. Seth wasn’t sure if it was part of their play or something else but the energy he felt from the crowd watching them didn’t set him at ease. Kaden’s scene had felt controlled, disciplined, respectful even. This asshole looked like, well, an asshole.

From the disgusted looks on some of the other people’s faces, Seth got the impression the man wasn’t very popular.

“How the hell did he con someone into playing with him?” Tony muttered.

“Who is he?”

“Baxter. He’s a real asshole. That’s not just play, what he’s doing. I mean, some people are into humiliation, and that’s fine if it’s their kink. This guy really is an asshole. He goes through subs like some people change their socks, sometimes more. He’s a fucking poser.”

“Why do they let him in?”

“He hasn’t violated any rules…yet. I guaran-damn-tee you, the first time he does he’s out on his ass.”

Seth watched as the guy dragged the poor woman around. She fell to the floor, and even from where Seth stood he heard her scream something.

Baxter looked down at her. “You’re shitting me? You’re safe wording me? We haven’t done anything yet!”

She screamed something else. Tony looked like he was about to go over there when one of the dungeon monitors stepped in and whispered something to the guy.

“Aw, fuck. Fine! I was going to let her up.”

As soon as the woman’s arms were free she ripped the gag out of her mouth and spewed a stream of obscenities at the guy. She yanked off the collar and threw it at him. “Fuck you, Baxter!” she screamed, then stormed off.

Tony laughed. “Well, another one bites the dust.”

Seth turned his attention back to Kaden and Leah. He was speaking to her now. She nodded, stood, and started dressing while he unclipped the cuffs from the bench, wiped it down, and put their accessories away. He slipped his shirt on and looked at Seth, tipped his head at him, indicating for him to step over.

Leah finished dressing and knelt before the two of them.

“Thank you, Master,” she said.

He reached out his hand to her and she took it, kissing the back of it. He pulled her to her feet.

Kaden was about to say something to Seth when Baxter walked over.

“Kaden! Do you still have room in that class next weekend?”

“No.” He turned from the guy. Seth noticed that Leah had tensed.

“Well, how about the one after that?”

Now Kaden looked tense. “I’m cancelling my classes for a while. I’m taking some time off.”

Baxter struck Seth as one of those kinds who couldn’t take a hint, had maybe learned his social skills on the free porn sites. “Why are you doing that?”

Tony stepped in. “None of your business.”

“I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Well, you are now. Leave them alone. They’re not done with their scene yet.”

“You’re here, and that guy’s with them. What’s up?”

Kaden grabbed the bag. He motioned Seth to follow him and made a beeline for the exit, Leah’s hand firmly clamped in his.

Seth stayed close behind them and glanced back to see Baxter hurrying after them.

“Hey, Kaden, wait up,” Baxter called.

Kaden swore under his breath and tossed his keys to Seth, handed Leah off to him. “Get her in the car. Now.”

Seth didn’t question him. He hurried Leah to the car and put her in the backseat. Then he locked her in and returned to Kaden’s side. He wasn’t sure what this asshole’s problem was, but he’d be damned if he’d let Kaden face him alone.

Baxter glanced at Seth standing behind Kaden. “Kaden, look, if I pissed you off I’m sorry. I just want to sign up for a class.”

“I told you, I’m taking time off from teaching. You’ll have to take a class from someone else.”

Seth wanted to deck the asshole.

“What’s going on?” Baxter asked.

kaden’sdying

“No offense but it’s none of your business. Come on, Seth.”

“Look, I want to learn to treat my subs the way you treat Leah. Everyone says you’re the best—”

Kaden whirled, suddenly in the guy’s face. Seth worried he’d have to pull Kaden back. “Don’t you ever think what you do and what I do are even remotely related, Baxter.”

“Come on, I told you, I’ll pay a lot of money to have a private training session with her! Please?”

Kaden shoved the guy. Seth pulled him back, getting between them. “He’s not worth it,” Seth growled in Kaden’s ear, now worried. He’d never seen Kaden blow his cool before. Ever. And if he didn’t stay focused on getting Kaden in the car, Seth knew he would deck the slimy son of a bitch himself for even thinking about touching Leah. “Let’s go, Kade. Dude, let’s get Leah home.”

That broke through Kaden’s anger. He let Seth guide him to the car, then slipped into the backseat with Leah while Seth slid behind the wheel.

Baxter stood with his jaw gaping, watching them leave.

“Who the fuck was that?” Seth glanced in the rearview mirror. Leah was curled in Kaden’s lap, his face buried in her hair.

“Baxter’s a prick. Real estate attorney. He’s one of the assholes I was talking about who abuses subs. I had him in one of my classes. He was only worried about how hard he could hit someone. He’s a real jerk.”

Kaden didn’t have to say anything else. Seth fought the urge to turn the car around and pound on the guy himself. The thought of that bastard wanting to lay a finger on Leah…

At home, Kaden helped Leah from the car, then scooped her into his arms and carried her inside. Seth followed them and dropped the duffel bag on the couch, unsure where it should go. He started for the kitchen to pour himself a drink when Kaden returned from their bedroom. Without a word he hugged Seth. After a moment, he released him.

“Thanks, man.”

Seth nodded. “Yeah.”

Kaden stepped back and took a deep breath. “That’s why I need you,” he hoarsely whispered. “That’s why she needs you. Assholes like him. Problem is, there’s a lot of assholes out there who aren’t as obviously obnoxious as Baxter, who can sucker a sub in and then they abuse them. Or they play and drop them. They look like nice guys on the outside.”

“Is she afraid of him?”

He nodded. “Not just him. After a scene she’s extremely vulnerable. We never hang around after. We go, scene, and I bring her home immediately. If we hang around, it’s before, never after.”

Seth understood. That made sense. He could feel it in her, the way she seemed so…docile wasn’t the right word, but it was close.

“Tell her good night for me.”

Kaden smiled. “You can go tell her, if you want.”

Seth shook his head. “No. I’m good.” His cock had finally softened. The last thing he needed to see was her in that outfit. Or wearing even less.

Kaden patted him on the back and returned to their bedroom.

Seth found a bottle of bourbon and started to get a glass, then took another look at it.

No, maybe this wasn’t the best way to go tonight.

He walked to the den and closed the door behind him. His guitar was way out of tune. He hadn’t played it in ages. It took him a little while to tune it. He spent an hour trying to remember his way through old favorites. Mostly folksy stuff like Gordon Lightfoot, and even some Jimmy Buffett.

It felt good to play again. Their moms had made Kaden and him take guitar together. While they fought it at the time, when they realized they were both decent at it and the girls loved it, they quit complaining and had fun with it.

How many hours had he and Kaden played together, Leah sitting at their feet and leaning against Kaden or even against him, singing together? Playing for her.

kaden’sdying

His fingers fumbled the chords. He tried again, blinking back tears.

The soft snick of the latch startled him. The den door swung open, and Leah stood in the doorway.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded and stepped into the room. She wore the smaller black collar and a long T-shirt. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Neither could I.”

“Can I come in?”

He started to say of course she could, it was her house, then he remembered Kade’s advice.

He nodded.

She pushed the door shut behind her. “We’ve had some good times,” she wistfully said. “Lots of nights singing together.”

Seth nodded, feeling guilty that those times hadn’t been as many lately as they once were.

kaden’sdying

How many more nights did they have? “Yeah.”

She sat at his feet and rested her head against his knee. It was something she’d done countless times over the years, but now the gesture took on a poignant new meaning for him.

For her too, probably, he suspected.

“Play ‘Come Monday’ for me,” she softly asked. “Please?”

One of her favorites. While he knew his voice wasn’t as good as Kade’s, he softly sang to her, trying not to cry his way through the words.

He realized at the end of the song that she’d fallen asleep. The door swung open again and Kade looked in.

“Is she finally out?” he whispered.

Seth nodded and carefully put his guitar aside, trying not to jostle Leah. “How long have you been standing there?”

“I knew she came in here. I wanted to make sure she was okay.” He walked in and carefully scooped her into his arms.

Seth beat his jealous pang back into submission.

He didn’t care what Kaden said. She was still Kaden’s wife.

“Good night, Seth,” he whispered.

Seth nodded and waited for a moment, until he was sure Kaden had returned to their room.

He quietly closed the den door and picked up his guitar again.